Heated Desire

The rain soaked Isabella to the bone, but the cold outside was nothing compared to the ice freezing her chest.

She arrived at her mother's small neighborhood bakery, her hands trembling violently as she tried to fit the key into the lock.

Inside, the lights were already blazing.

Isabella frowned, pushing the door open. Her mother was supposed to be resting at home.

Sitting casually at the front counter wasn't her mother. It was a man in an expensive, sleek suit, lazily swirling a cup of coffee with a smug smirk on his face.

Chad. Her ex-fiancé.

"What are you doing here?" Isabella demanded, wiping the rainwater from her forehead. "We broke up six months ago, Chad. Get out before I call the police."

Chad chuckled, a low, condescending sound that made Isabella's stomach churn.

Six months ago, she had caught him in bed with her own stepsister, Victoria. She had walked away instantly, but Chad had promised he would make her regret it.

"I'm just admiring the view, Bella," Chad sneered, gesturing around the warm, flour-dusted bakery.

"Enjoy it while it lasts. By Friday morning, this entire building belongs to my family's firm."

Isabella froze. Her breath hitched in her throat. "What are you talking about?"

"Did you really think your mother suddenly lost millions in bad investments by accident?"

Chad stood up, walking toward her with slow, predatory steps.

"Your mother is naive. My father and Victoria's mother set the trap months ago. We bought up her supplier debts, squeezed her bank accounts, and forced the foreclosure."

Tears of pure rage pricked Isabella's eyes. The room spun around her.

"You... you ruined an innocent woman just to get back at me?"

"I told you, Bella. Nobody dumps a corporate heir like me and walks away clean," Chad whispered, his eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction.

"But I'm a generous man. Come back to my bed. Become my secret mistress, and I might convince my father to give your mother a small apartment to rent."

Slap!

The sharp sound echoed through the empty bakery.

Chad's head snapped to the side. His cheek instantly turned bright red.

His face contorted with dark, ugly fury. He lunged forward, gripping Isabella's wrist tightly. His fingers dug mercilessly into her skin.

"You bitch! You think you still have options? You're broke! You're nothing!" Chad screamed in her face. "By Friday, you and your pathetic mother will be begging on the streets!"

"Let go of her."

A voice, deeper and colder than the winter wind, sliced through the tension in the room.

Chad spun around, his anger instantly vanishing, replaced by pure terror.

Standing in the doorway of the bakery was Adrian Blackwood.

Two massive bodyguards stood right behind him, completely blocking the exit. Rain glistened on the sharp shoulders of Adrian's dark overcoat, making him look like the grim reaper himself.

"B-Blackwood?" Chad stammered, his grip on Isabella loosening completely. "What are you doing here? This is private business."

Adrian didn't look at Chad. His gray eyes were locked onto Isabella's bruised wrist.

When he finally looked up at Chad, the murderous intent in his gaze was terrifying.

"I don't care about your business," Adrian said smoothly, taking a slow, dominant step forward.

"But you are holding the wrist of my future wife."

Chad gasped, his eyes widening. "W-Wife? She's a nobody!"

Adrian didn't answer with words. He gestured slightly with his hand.

Within a split second, his two bodyguards moved. One grabbed Chad by the collar, slamming him hard against the counter, while the other forced his arms behind his back.

"Let me go! My father will sue you!" Chad screamed, his face pale with fear.

Adrian walked up to Chad, leaning in closely. His voice was a deadly whisper.

"Tell your father that as of five minutes ago, Blackwood Enterprises bought out your family's bank loans. By tomorrow morning, your firm is bankrupt. You are ruined, Chad."

"No... you can't do this!" Chad cried out as the bodyguards dragged him kicking and screaming out into the pouring rain.

The bakery fell dead silent.

Isabella stood there, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked at Adrian, completely overwhelmed.

He had just destroyed her worst enemy in seconds, without breaking a sweat.

Adrian turned to her, his expression returning to a cold, unreadable mask. He reached into his coat and pulled out the legal folder from earlier.

He laid it flat on the bakery counter.

"The pen is in the folder, Isabella," Adrian whispered, his eyes burning with intense, scary possessiveness.

"Sign it, and no one will ever touch you again."

Isabella looked at the contract, then looked into his dangerous gray eyes. She knew she was entering a golden cage. She knew he was a monster.

But right now, he was the only monster capable of protecting her.

With shaking fingers, Isabella picked up the pen and pressed it to the paper.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a text from an unknown number.

She looked down, and her breath stopped.

Don't sign it, Isabella. Adrian Blackwood is the one who destroyed your father.